"Mama! Thomas Drink'n' Milk Tanker!"
Written: Mar 25 '03 (Updated Mar 28 '03)
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Pros: Kids know their trains are pulling milk, colorful, attractive, bonus magnets on top.
Cons: Price if you pay full retail, not much of a toy by itself.
The Bottom Line: This shouldn't be your first Thomas & Friends purchase, but when your trains are ready to pull freight, it's a great addition to your collection.
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| dagny21's Full Review: Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends: Tidmouth Milk ... |
One of my son's favorite quiet-time activities is to look through our catalog of Thomas the Tank Engine toys. When he was just barely two, he surprised me by pointing at this little tanker car in his catalog and saying "Milk!" So, the Tidmouth Milk Tanker immediately went on my list of things to buy for my son's Thomas & Friends wooden railway collection.
Buying the Milk Tanker
This milk tanker can be purchased by itself for between $8 and $10, or in a set with 4 other pieces for $40. This seems like a lot to pay for such a small, simple item. But, the more we buy of this stuff, the more accustomed we become to shelling out loads of cash for seemingly insignificant items. Still, I'm always on the look out for a good deal.
After much looking around, I decided to buy the 5-car gift pack, which comes with this Milk Tanker, a Troublesome Truck (also called a Naughty Freight Car), a Barrel Car, a Caboose, and a special Thomas the Tank Engine with a "hard at work" expression on his face. The average retail price of this set is $39.99, with the individual retail value of each piece sold separately being about $46. I was able to find the set, brand new, in it's original box from a seller on eBay for the bargain price of $22. After shipping, I spent $28 on this set, so my cost for each piece averaged to less than $6. I was pretty happy about that.
The Toy
The Tidmouth Milk Tanker is a train car we often catch glimpses of on our Thomas & Friends DVDs and Videos. The wooden toy version bears a good resemblance to the one on the show. The toy is made up of a black wooden base, a white cylander with Tidmouth Milk painted on either side, two pairs of molded black plastic wheels, and a strong magnet on each end to attach it to other cars or engines. Additionally, this tanker has two very small bonus magnets on top, which enables it to be lifted by a cargo crane, Harold the Helicoptor, the BreakDown Train, or anything else with an appropriate magnet.
Our Experience
When this 5-piece set arrived in the mail, I tucked it away in the closet to give out one piece at a time on special days. One week my son caught a cold and needed cough medicine in the middle of the night. Giving him medicine without an incentive is a thoroughly traumatic experience, but when I said "Look, I've got a new train here for you as soon as you take this!" He immediately complied without fuss. So, for the first several hours of play, this little car simply slept beside him. After that, it was at least one full day before the milk tanker made it onto his train table. My son's habit with a new vehicle is to carry it around with him for quite awhile before he allows Thomas, Percy, James, or any of his other engines the priveledge of pulling it.
You wouldn't think this simple little car (no moving parts other than the wheels, no cute face, no buttons to push) would elicit much enthusiasm from a little boy, but it did. Each and every little piece we add to his railroad system is a big thrill for my little boy, and the milk tanker was no acception. We've talked about what tankers are, and he really likes the idea that this tanker holds something he's totally familiar with (the milk of course), and it's opened him up to the idea of adding other types of tankers to his set. There are at least three others that I know of: a Sodor Fuel Tanker, a Tar Tanker, and a very hard to find Water Tanker that was only sold in a larger set and now goes for about $25 on eBay by itself. When my son assembles a freight train, this tanker is almost always included.
Obviously this toy isn't worth much all by itself, but would make a fine addition to a growing Thomas & Friends collection.
FIND RELATED REVIEWS BELOW
Wooden Railway System
Annie - Thomas' Beloved Coach
Bertie the Bus
Clarabel- Thomas' Beloved Coach
Edward the Blue Engine
Gordon the Big Express Engine
Harold the Helicoptor
Henry the Green Engine
James the Red Engine
Lady
Percy the Small Engine
Rusty with Construction Cars
Thomas the Tank Engine
Toby the Tram Engine
Arched Stone Bridge
Single Stone Tunnel
6.5 inch Curved Switch Track
6.5 inch Curved Track
Circle Set
Books
Diesel's Devious Deed
Thomas: The Really Useful Engine
Buying Thomas
All Aboard Toys
Train Table
Nilo Train Table
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 6.00
Type of Toy: Trains
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
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Epinions.com ID:
dagny21
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 in Kids & Family |
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Member: Christine D
Location: Alaska
Reviews written: 369
Trusted by: 63 members
About Me:
Happily married mother of one boy.
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